"They are racially profiling": Ilhan Omar says ICE pulled her son over
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Rep. Ilhan Omar at the U.S. Capitol last week. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
ICE agents pulled over Rep. Ilhan Omar's (D-Minn.) son and asked him to provide proof of citizenship, the Somalia-born Democrat said in an interview Sunday.
The big picture: Omar raised racial profiling concerns as she announced last week two congressional inquiries into ICE's immigration crackdown in Minnesota targeting undocumented Somalis after President Trump said "I don't want 'em in our country."
- Trump has called both Omar and Somalis in general "garbage."
Driving the news: "Yesterday, after he made a stop at Target, he did get pulled over by ICE agents, and once he was able to produce his passport ID, they did let him go," said Omar, who came to the country as a refugee before becoming a U.S. citizen, on CBS Minnesota affiliate WCCO on Sunday.
- Omar told WCCO's Esme Murphy that ICE agents had previously entered a mosque where her son was praying.
- Although they "didn't do anything," Omar said she "had to remind him just how worried I am, because all of these areas that they are talking about are areas where he could possibly find himself in and they are racially profiling, they are looking for young men who look Somali that they think are undocumented."
The other side: White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson claimed Sunday evening that ICE agents were facing an increase in assaults that she blamed on "untrue smears" from elected Democrats.
- "ICE officers act heroically to enforce the law and protect American communities with the utmost professionalism," Jackson said in an emailed statement.
- "Anyone pointing the finger at law enforcement officers instead of the criminals are simply doing the bidding of criminal illegal aliens."
- Representatives for ICE and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to Axios' Sunday evening request for comment.
More from Axios:
- How Trump flipped America's race conversation
- Omar demands Trump explain "racist" crackdown on Somalis
- What to know about fraud allegations behind Trump's attacks on Somalis
Editor's note: This article has been updated with comment from White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson.
